Pesmomat, a unique robotic automaton, wants to bring poetry to the people. It allows passers-by to buy a poem for a coin, brighten their day and symbolically – as well as literally – support the spread of poetry.

Conceptually, the project was created within the framework of the Anarchist Sparrow – the portal of the Society of Slovenian Writers, but it is implemented in cooperation with the Slovenian Center PEN, the Society of Slovenian Writers and the Faculty of Computer Science and Informatics. Its mission is to bring classical and contemporary poetry closer to the general public and to enable young poets to break through.

A nation cannot survive without culture.

Slovenian writers, especially poets, are trying to find their place under the sun, fighting for survival in an increasingly commercial world. The reading culture in Slovenia is at an alarmingly low level. A 2019 survey showed that as many as 49% of people had not read a single book in the last year which was not related to work or study. Only 6% of people read more than 20 books (excluding study literature) a year, and only 9% of people read books every day. People have especially little contact with poetry.

Pesmomat’s poetic intervention.

With its poetic intervention, Pesmomat wants to initiate a much-needed public debate on the importance of enjoying fiction. He invites passers-by to buy a song; after paying with a coin, he prints the selected poem and also recites it. It offers a wide selection of works by classical Slovenian poets and poems by contemporary poets. The project takes care of the unique cultural promotion of Slovenian poetry – with its robotized form and digitized accessibility of poetry, Pesmomat is certainly particularly attractive to the young and the youngest.